Improvement in clothes-driers



O. O. BROWN, OF IBERIA, OHIO.

' IMPROVEMENT IN CLOTHES-DRIERS.

Specification forming part of'Letters Patent No. 56,360, dated July 17, 1866.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, O. O. BROWN, of Iberia, in the county ot' Morrow and State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Olothes- Drier; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the nature, construction, and operation of the same, reierencebeing had to the accompanying drawing, which is made a partof this specification, and which represents a perspective view of my improved clothes-drier.

My said invention consists of a clothesdrier in which the supporting-rods are attached to and form part of a iexible rack, which is adapted to be rolled out into the form of an elevated arch, affording great capacity as a clothes-drier, or wound upon a windlass or axle, so as to occupy very little space when not in use. This exible rack is described in the course of the following specification as consisting' of two series of blocks attached to ilexible straps, and affording points of attachment for 'the rods on which the clothes are hung, said parts attached to two frames or end supports, between which the flexible rack is sustained when the drier is in use.

I will state that the construction here represented forms merely a good type ot my in-A vention, which may be carried out under many modifications as to construction and arrangement, the essential feature of the invention being the attachment of the supporting-rods to a exible support, which may be wound upon an aXis.

In order that others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains may be enabled to fully understand and use the same, I will proceed to describe it in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing.

A A may represent two frames, each of which is composed of' two uprights having suitable feet to stand upon, and connected together by the transverse bars c a'. The frame A is provided with a shaft, a2, which may be either square or round in its transverse section, and which has its ends suitably journaled in the uprights of the frame A.

The shaft a2 may be rotated bya crank-han-` dle, B, and as the flexible rack is wound upon and off of the same, after the manner of a cable, it may be appropriately denominated a windlass.7

O O' represent straps of leather or other suitable ilexible material, to each of' which is riveted or otherwise attached a series of blocks, D D D' D'. rIhe leXible supports O D C' D' thus formed are placed at a suitable distance asunder, and are each attached at either end to the windlass a2 of frame A and transverse bar a' of frame A'.

The straps O O' are provided with buckles E at the ends, which are attached to the frame A', said buckles permitting the ready adjustment and detachment of the straps.

F F represent the rods upon which the clothes are hung, the same being attached to the supports O D C' D', parallel with each other, by having their ends inserted in the blocks D D', as represented.

All the blocks D D' may carry rods F, or only the alternate' blocks may be provided with them, if preferred.

The rods F may be of wood or metal, their size may vary as desired, and any number may be employed. They may also be adjustablethat is to say, inserted or removed as occasion may require.

The ends of the blocks D D' may be cut or beveled, so that when unrolled they shall as-` sume the form of an arch, and the series of supporting-rods F will occupy a corresponding position.

The operation ot' the above-described device will be readily understood.

By turning the windlass a2 the eXible rack O D F may be unrolled and made to` assume the form of an arch, which is sustained in a properly-elevated position by the frames A A'. When thus unrolled the liexible rack affords aclothes-drying medium of great capacity, and the apparatus may be easily shifted to adapt the clothes to be most favorably acted upon by the wind outdoors or a fire indoors.

To adapt the drier to a limited space or to the quantity of clothes, the leXible rack may at times be only partially unwound.

When rolled up or wound upon the windlass a2 the drier may be laid aside or stowed away in compact form.

By detachiug the tleXible rack Jfrom the frames A A' the latter may be used as clothesracks of minor capacity independently of the former.

The device may be used for drying other arcles, such as fruit, which may be strung uponl ropes substituted for the bars F.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A, clothesdrying rack consisting of a series of suspending` rods, bars, or equivalents, attached to flexible supports, to adapt the rack as a whole to be Wound upon an axis or Windlass in any manner, substantially as described.

2. A exible clothes-rack consisting of the straps C C', blocks D D', and supporting-bars F, all combined and operating substantially as described.

3. In combination with the above,the frames A A and windlass a2, arranged and operating substantially as described.

O. C. BROWN.

Witnesses E. BURT, J. C. ROE. 

